He made this observation as he noted that with more Filipinos working abroad, more housing loans are also being settled. This development helps ensure the continuous flow of investments into housing projects – a good sign for investors, prospective homebuyers, and the housing finance sector.

"Mortgage servicing fuels the housing industry. Other than growth in the number of residential projects and increased sale, a robust housing finance sector also reflects stability in terms of loan settlement," Cadiz explained.

Formally launched in July 2006, BFS is a pioneering mortgage servicing platform that combines functional competencies in Mortgage Finance, Loan Origination, Credit Underwriting, Loan Servicing, Default Management, Property Management, and Secondary Market Development.

Through its various loan resolution programs, BFS provides delinquent housing loan borrowers, whose accounts are under the Balikatan Housing Finance portfolio, with the opportunity to settle long outstanding obligations. To date, the firm has either successfully turned around or is in active negotiation stage with 24 percent of the more than 52,000 Balikatan accounts. Of this number, 21 percent are accounts of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) or individuals who have an OFW family member or relative. Almost 42 percent of the portfolio being managed by BFS is located in the CALABARZON area, which, incidentally, ranks as the second largest source of OFWs from the country.

To ensure that the funds brought into the country by OFWs are captured by the industry, BFS designs schemes customized for the specific needs of the overseas Filipino market. Among others, BFS offers financial schemes that take into consideration the paying capacity and contract terms of OFW clients. It also ensures fast processing of documents, considering the clients’ limited time of stay in the country. Future services will include loan processing through the internet. "We want to make it easier for OFWs to transact with us," Cadiz explained. For now, the BFS website (www.bfs.com.ph) provides information on the company and its services.